Our Hearts Intertwined
by lovefanfic4ever
Summary: What does it take for one to fall in love? Not much, it seems. But it takes more than enough for one to admit those feelings to the other. HitsuXKarin
1. Prologue: Meaning of Fear

**Our Hearts Intertwined**

A/N: Love HitsuXKarin. RXR. Bleach and its characters are not mine. (Though any other characters that I happen to create are)

This story takes place 3 years after the Winter War. Karin has become deeply involved with the shinigamis after Ichigo filled her in on the details regarding Soul Society and the war itself. Shortly after the war, she has discovered her potent shinigami powers, and has been hollow hunting along with Ururu and Jinta under the watchful eye of Urahara Kisuke.

At the present, there is still a large amount of shinigamis stationed in Karakura Town to ensure that the town is safe from the remaining hollows of the Winter War, including Kuchiki Rukia, Abarai Renji, Hitsugaya Toushirou, and Matsumoto Rangiku.

Prologue – Meaning of Fear

**- Time warp: Future -**

"Karin, move!" He shouted with all his might as he watched, seemingly in slow motion, the arrancar charge towards Karin with a cero forming in his left hand and his sword in his right. There was a huge bloodthirsty grin on the arrancar's face, as if the arrancar was mocking the 10th Squad Captain of his inability to protect his own comrades, let alone the person who was most important to him. His bluish-jade eyes turned back towards the unresponsive and unmoving girl sitting against the wall, sword loosely held in hand, and prayed that this was all a dream, and that she would move out of the way before the arrancar struck.

But she didn't move. No. She _couldn't_ move. Her eyes seemed blank. Empty. He willed himself to move his body towards the girl to take the blow, but couldn't conjure up enough energy to make it through the curtain of lesser hollows blocking his path.

He shut his eyes, not wanting to see the would-be gruesome sight, and for the first time in his life, Hitsugaya Toushirou finally understood the true meaning of fear.


	2. Chapter 1: The End of the Beginning

**Our Hearts Intertwined**

Chapter 1 – The End of the Beginning

Gray eyes fluttered open to see the cloudless, clear blue sky. Kurosaki Karin felt a light breeze ruffling her hair against her cheek; it was a calm breeze that reminded her of the day that she won a soccer game against the middle school brats with Toushirou, and she chuckled at the memory of Toushirou yelling at Matsumoto, saying that he wasn't an elementary student. She pushed herself up wondering why she was on the floor, and looked around, taking in the environment that she found herself in, but cursed in her mind when she did.

_You've got to be kidding me. Where the hell am I!?_

Houses, no, more like shacks, surrounded her. People were walking around, some slowly as if they don't have a care in the world, while others rushed around as if they were being chased. All of them, strangely, were wearing yukatas. Karin felt like she had accidentally dropped into a different time period. Somewhere in the distance, she could make out a tall tower protruding a massive white wall that surrounded a large area of what was unknown to her. As she continued to inspect the place she was in, a voice sounded behind her, cutting her off from her thoughts.

"Oi! Shinigami! You're awake!"

Karin snapped her head towards the voice, her brain processing the words that she had heard. _Shinigami?_

"I'm not a shinigami." She replied almost automatically, staring at the speaker, a young boy that looks to be about her age, maybe a bit older. The first thing Karin noticed was his dark orange hair that was almost identical to that of Matsumoto and Inoue. Another obvious feature was a diagonal scar on his left cheek. His dark blue eyes sparkled with amusement at Karin's statement.

"You're a bad liar, you know?" He questioned.

"Why would you say that?"

"You're wearing the uniform of the shinigami, and you even have a zanpakuto right there on your hip, and you say that you're _not_ a shinigami? You must be joking. Either that, or you're really into cosplay." The boy chuckled at his own joke.

Karin looked down and realized that the boy was right. She was wearing the standard black uniform, the one that her brother and Toushirou wore. She shook her head. No, Toushirou's outfit includes a white haori, since he's a captain.

_Wait… there's something I'm missing out…_

"Anyways, what's a shinigami doing here? Did you hit your head while you were on patrol or something? It's not a good idea for a shinigami to be lying in the middle of a street, since, you know, people in Rukongai don't like the shinigami."

"Rukongai…?" _Now that sounds familiar… where have I heard that before…_

Suddenly, Karin's memories flooded back to her, and the realization hit Karin hard, making her gasp and widened her eyes in shock. She remembered fighting a hollow, as well as diving towards a group of oblivious children who were playing in the park; the last scene that flashed before her eyes was Ichigo and Toushirou slashing at the hollow.

_Great, I bet Ichi-nii's freaking out right now._

Karin's attention shifted back to the boy. "This is Soul Society, right? I'm dead, ain't I?"

The boy looked at her, stunned. "You seriously… don't know?"

Karin growled and stood up, brushing off the dust on her uniform. She moved around a bit, and realized that she liked her clothes. They were comfortable to move in, suitable for fighting.

"Would I ask if I knew? And if you're wondering why I'm like this," Karin paused, waving her hands to indicate her attire, "I seriously don't know. But I can tell you that my family is not normal at all. My brother is still alive, and _he_ is a shinigami."

"That's impossible!"

Karin glanced at him, smirking. "Ever heard of Winter War hero, substitute shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo?"

The young boy stared at Karin, awestruck by the fact. "Kurosaki Ichigo is your brother!?"

"Yep! And I'm Kurosaki Karin." Karin scowled upon seeing the expression on the boy's face. "What's with the fish face? I'm not some animal in a zoo."

The boy blushed bright red and yanked at his hair in embarrassment. "Sorry… I'm just shocked that I would see the sister of the famous Kurosaki Ichigo… even the people in Rukongai, despite their hatred towards the shinigamis, have heard of him, you know, as the hero who saved Soul Society and all. We're all indebted to him…" A small silence ensued. "Oh! I guess I should introduce myself as well. My name is Rei. Kawashita Rei. I know it's a pretty lame name, but, yeah."

"Lame? I don't think so. I think it's actually a cool name. Anyways… now that I'm dead, I want to ask you: what are dead people supposed to do?"

"Right. Usually, people who come into Soul Society will be taken in by families that have already formed, and they will eventually become parts of foster families. When you come here, you don't remember anything from your past life, which is why people don't go looking for their families from their past lives. Though I don't know why you do in your case. Must have something to do with your… heritage, I guess… As for me, I'm going to try and see if I have the potential to enter the Shinigami Academy."

"Shinigami Academy?"

"Um. It's the place where people who have enough reiatsu enter and train to become full-fledged shinigami. People are placed into one of the 13 Protection Squads after they graduate. In each squad, there are 10 top officers. It would be such a privilege to actually meet one of those officers…"

"Privilege? Man, you've got to be kidding me. I meet them every day!" Karin chuckled at Rei's skeptical face. "Hey! You tend to have an advantage when you have a war hero as a brother."

"Oh. Right. Forgot about that."

"So, tell me. What's Toushirou like in Soul Society? I've heard from people such as Renji and Rukia that he's quite different when he's here compared to when he's in the Living World." Karin asked. Renji and Rukia had always told her that Toushirou was a strict captain who didn't show a lot of emotions towards others, that he's a workaholic who didn't enjoy life as much as he should be. But the Toushirou that Karin knew was always _very_ emotional: he would explode whenever someone talked about his age or height (despite the fact that he's no longer short), and he would yell and become very defensive whenever Karin teased him. So, she finds it hard to believe that Toushirou is a "strict and emotionless" person.

Rei looked at Karin questioningly. "Toushirou? Renji? Rukia? You don't mean 10th Squad Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou, 6th Squad Vice-Captain Abarai Renji, and Kuchiki Rukia of the Kuchiki Noble House and the sister of 6th Squad Captain Kuchiki Byakuya, do you?"

Karin smiled sweetly. "What do you think?"

XXXXX

_ Damn… What am I going to do with him…?_

"Karin, where are you? It's all my fault! I should have looked out for her… I should have protected her… Now she's dead and I don't know where she is… What am I going to tell goat-chin and Yuzu?!" A very anxious Kurosaki Ichigo muttered under his breath, pacing to and fro.

"Kurosaki, can you just SHUT UP!"

Ichigo paused his pacing and glared at Toushirou. "I can't! It's – Hey! What did you do that for!?" Ichigo exclaimed, hands holding his head, victim of Toushirou's fist. "That hurts, you know? You midget!"

"Of course it hurts. If it doesn't, then there'd be no meaning to it. And for your information, I am as tall as you are, so calling me a midget would be calling yourself a midget." Toushirou sighed and shook his head. "Anyways, calm down. If Karin's not here, then she has most likely passed on and is in Soul Society now."

Silence…

Toushirou smacked his hand on his forehead. _Idiot._

XXXXX

"Wow…" Karin murmured as she stood before the massive white wall that she had first seen when she had woken up. She and Rei were standing in front of one of the gates that led inside. "So Seireitei is everything inside this wall?" Karin asked.

"Yeah. The 'outside', which we are in right now, is Rukongai, as you already know. It's separated into many districts, with the 1st district as the richest and closest district to Seireitei." Rei continued on with his explanation about the various details of Soul Society, as well as the shinigamis and what they do daily to occupy themselves. Karin was amazed by the fact that spirits don't feel hunger and don't have to eat food, unless they have reiryoku.

The duo wandered along the perimeters of the wall, moving from topic to topic randomly. They were just reaching the intriguing topic of kido spells when a large reiatsu forced itself on them. Rei, unable to stand the pressure, fell to his knees and panted hardly, sweat sliding down his cheek. He forced his head upwards to look at Karin. And he was shocked. She was standing with her back straight, proud and tall, and a smile was plastered on her face.

_How is this possible? Such a tremendously large and oppressive reiatsu, yet she's not influenced at all?_

"Karin!" A voice boomed out from far away; however, the figure appeared before Karin and Rei in an instant, faster than Rei could register. Ichigo's face relaxed upon seeing Karin, and he moved forward to embrace Karin.

BAM!

The sound of fist contacting jaw resonated across the area.

"Ichi-nii! Control yourself, ok? You're leaking reiatsu all over the place! And you're suffocating Rei!" She gestured towards her panting friend kneeling on the ground, then crossed her arms across her chest and glared at her brother.

The tall strawberry grinned sheepishly at his sister despite the large bruise forming on his jaw. "At least you're still the same. Wait. You do remember me, right?" Ichigo asked, suddenly feeling anxious.

"Of course I do, you idiot! If I didn't, you would have more than just that bruise on your face."

"Right…" Ichigo proceeded to close his eyes, and a few seconds later, the pressure lifted. "Is that better?"

"So you do have _some_ degree of control, huh?" Toushirou's sarcastic tone popped up from behind the other male. Ichigo spun around to catch the provocative smirk on the 10th Squad Captain.

"What does that mean, Toushirou? You wanna fight?"

"It's HITSUGAYA-TAICHO! How many times do I have to repeat it to you, Kurosaki? Oh, right, I just remembered that your brain does not have the capacity to store something for over 24 hours."

"Shut up! I'll call you whatever I want to call you, you midget!"

During the dispute between the orange and white haired shinigami, Karin helped Rei back up on his feet. Rei looked over to the bickering pair with an amused expression. He gestured towards Toushirou's height, on par with Ichigo's, and asked, "Midget?"

Karin tried to suppress the laughter that was threatening to erupt from her throat. "Used to be shorter than me."

Rei's eyes seemed to bulge a little before he returned his gaze back to focus on Toushirou. "I never knew that Hitsugaya-taicho could act so normally…"

Karin smiled in response. "The Kurosaki family tends to have that effect on Toushirou. Anyways, about the kido spells and all, we learn it at the Academy, right?"

"Yeah. You interested?"

"Sure am."


	3. Chapter 2: Crystal

**Our Hearts Intertwined**

Chapter 2 – Crystal

**- 6 years later -**

"All graduating students, please gather at the main training grounds!" The announcement blared and resounded throughout the Shinigami Academy. Students started to file out from their dorms, dressed in their red and blue uniforms, preparing to take their final test as a shinigami undergraduate. The crowd hummed with excitement and nervousness, which was well expected for such an important day. After all, the final test was to access what the students have learned during their 6 years in the Academy, as well as to determine which of the 13 Protection Squads they will be placed in.

But on this important day, there are some people who aren't at all nervous. These are the people who are mostly likely nobles, or students who were arrogant and believed that the test was going to be a piece of cake. An exception to this, however, was a certain Kurosaki Karin.

Inside one of the dorms, a bright orange-headed male was trying to drag the infamous Karin out of bed. After dragging and hitting failed to rouse the sleeping figure, the impatient male cupped his hands around his mouth, and yelled into the female's ear.

"GET UP KARIN! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!"

Karin groaned and flipped over, stuffing her head into her pillow, mumbling. "Five more minutes!"

"Damn it! We don't have time! The test's gonna start in 10 minutes! So get your big butt out of bed!"

That being said, Karin jerked up from her bed, rushing into the bathroom, swearing and cursing all the way. "The hell, Rei!? Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

Rei rolled his eyes and leaned against the doorframe, watching Karin fly out from the bathroom, dressed and trying to fix her obi. "I tried. You were sleeping like a pig."

"Shut up! Come on, let's go."

The two late students shunpo'ed out and sped towards the main training grounds, which was large enough to contain all students and instructors at the Academy and still have space for any other guests. They arrived just in time to see the headmaster stand on the podium to start his opening speech. _Long and boring._ Karin droned out his monotone voice and useless talking and started to search for her brother and Toushirou. All 13 Protection Squad captains were required to attend the test to see for themselves the new generation of shinigamis. Karin spotted the head with orange hair lighter than Rei's soon enough. Said person was trying to rub sleep out of his eyes. He waved at her when he spotted her and motioned for her to concentrate on the headmaster. Karin, however, stuck her tongue out at him in response. She saw Ichigo scowl before she turned away from him, and her vision landed on a white haired head.

Toushirou raised his brow as Karin flashed a grin at him. He felt the urge to grin back at her, but refrained from doing so. Instead, he opted to nod his head at her in recognition of the girl. He shook his head and wondered for the thousandth time why Karin had such an effect on him.

"Taicho~!"

Toushirou sighed as he turned to face his annoying vice-captain. "What, Matsumoto?"

"Karin-chan's smiling at you! You should return the gesture, you know? It's only polite to do so!"

"Shut up and be still, or I'll double your paperwork."

"What!? Taicho! You meanie! You're never like this to Karin-chan!"

"MA-TSU-MO-TO." The captain growled. "I'm doubling your paperwork _and_ throwing away all that sake that you hid in that underground compartment under my desk!"

Matsumoto gasped at her captain, wondering how in the world did he manage to find it, then pouted. "Fine, fine! Anyways, I wonder who Karin will be fighting!"

"Who knows…"

XXXXX

"Alright! Listen up, 6th years! The final test will be a tournament amongst yourselves! Each of you will fight against 3 opponents, and there will be judges," the headmaster turned around and motioned towards the 13 Protection Squad captains and vice-captains, "who will evaluate your performances. Remember, winning or losing does not matter as much, so victory doesn't necessarily mean that you're good. In this test, you must fully demonstrate your skills and knowledge of zanjutsu, kido, hakudo, and hoho. Finally, be on your best behavior. You are in the presence of your future superiors! Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" The crowd of students echoed.

"Very well! Now I will proceed with how the tournament will go. 3 fights will occur at once in 3 separate training grounds. When your name and designated training ground has been called, move forward. If not, remain seated and wait patiently."

As soon as the headmaster finished his speech, shinigamis from each squad started to call out names in pairs. Karin, whose name wasn't called in the first round, sat down and immediately began to doze off. Rei followed her actions but kept his senses open and aware while his mind drifted off. It was a habit that he had developed when he was still in Rukongai 6 years ago.

Hearing the name of his best friend jolted Rei into cautiousness, his eyes snapping over to the source of the voice; 2 guys he recognized from Karin and his advanced classes were talking not too far away from where he sat.

"I hope I get Kurosaki as my opponent." The smug looking guy had ragged hair with a purple shade that was so dark that it would have looked like black if it wasn't for the sunlight reflecting off of it.

"Are you crazy? That's suicidal!" The other was obviously shorter, with normal looking black hair that was combed neatly into place especially for this occasion. _What's the use of dressing up if it's all just going to be messed up later during the fight?_ Rei asked himself.

"No, it's not! She doesn't even know her zanpakuto's name! Defeating her would be a piece of cake!"

"Not having her zanpakuto doesn't mean that she's weak, especially with Kurosaki-taicho as her brother. She's still the top student in zanjutsu and hoho, and there are rumors saying that she's training hakudo under Soifon-taicho!"

The smug looking boy scowled at the mention of Soifon. He obviously wasn't pleased with the news. "But her kido sucks! I mean, for an advanced class, you would think that she at least be able to control her reiatsu better, in a more refined way compared to her brutal ways!"

"Yeah, but her kido is still better than Kurosaki-taicho's!"

Rei shook his head at the foolishness of the boy. Karin may not have her shikai yet, but she's as deadly as a shinigami with one. He turned back to analyze the boy even more. What was his name again? Oh, right – Suzuki Akihiko. Now that he thought about it, the boy is also one of the top in the advanced class.

_Karin, be careful…_

XXXXX

Two hours later, Karin stood at the field ready for her 3rd battle, which also happened to be the last battle for the test. Most of the other students had all gathered around the training grounds as spectators. Karin's first 2 battles were relatively easy. She didn't even give her first opponent the chance to release shikai; without even drawing her zanpakuto, she disarmed the girl and rendered her unconscious with only hoho and hakudo. Her second opponent proved a little harder, but she managed to distract her opponent by aggressively attacking and finished him off with kido.

Rei, who had finished and won his 3 battles already, looked cautiously at Karin's last opponent, who unfortunately happened to be Akihiko. Akihiko had won both of his fights without releasing shikai, meaning that he's definitely strong. He glanced at Karin, feeling a little bit worried. It was going to be a tough fight for her.

"Ready?" A shinigami asked the 2 stationed contestants. After the approval from both, he nodded and announced, "Begin!"

The 2 opponents stared at each other, completely silent and motionless. The crowd surrounding them began to become restless with the tension that was filling the air. Suddenly, Akihiko sprang forward with a battle cry. Karin, in response, drew out her zanpakuto in one fluid motion, and the two locked blades.

Karin's mind was racing. She had analyzed his fights before, and she knew very well that while she was a good fighter, she would not hold a chance against Akihiko if he released his shikai. She had to find a way to end the battle before that happened. Jumping back, Karin swiped her zanpakuto towards Akihiko's abdomen, only to find another blade already there to block her own.

"Too slow, girl! Hado 4, Byakurai!"

"Damn!" Karin swore and twisted her body just in time to dodge a fatal blow to her chest, and jumped back a few feet. She winced; the white lightening had managed to graze her left arm.

"Pay attention!" Akihiko shouted, irritated when he realized that the girl was no longer looking at him, but at her wounded arm. The frustrated girl growled. "Shut up! Bakudo 61, Rikujokoro!"

"I told you, you're too slow – "

Akihiko was cut off when a punch was delivered to his face. Karin saw another opening that he created when he was trying to recover from the blow, and she shunpo'ed behind him to deliver a strong kick. Akihiko went crashing into the ground, the force of the crash creating a large crater in the arena.

The whole field was silent as the audience waited for more action from the fallen male. Akihiko emerged from the debris, bloody and cursing.

"You're going to pay for that! _Roar, Raitori!_ (*Thunderbird)"

"Shit!" Karin jumped back into a defensive position as she watched Akihiko's zanpakuto transform. The hilt and guard took on a variety of different yellow shades, with small black squares decorating it. The blade itself didn't change much, but it emitted a golden glow, and crackles of energy can be seen dancing around and down the length of the blade.

The two resumed to locking blades as Akihiko lunged forward again. Karin soon found herself at a disadvantage as she couldn't simultaneously block the lightning bolts, Akihiko's zanpakuto, and the kido spells that he was firing off in an incredibly fast fashion.

"Bakudo 4, Hainawa!" Karin widened her eyes as she felt the kido ropes swing around her and restrain her arms to her torso, and following the ropes came a hado 31, Shakkaho, which blasted her into the ground, releasing the original binding spell on her. Akihiko shunpo'ed until he stood before Karin, ready to swing his sword down to end the match.

XXXXX

"Karin!" Ichigo's concerned and worried voice shot out towards the field. He was more than ready to interfere with the fight when Ukitake stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Juushiro-san! Let go of me!"

"Ichigo-kun, if you went and helped her now, how would she feel? This is her test, so let her finish it. I believe that Karin-chan will accept the outcome no matter what it is."

Ichigo stood still for a few moments, letting Ukitake's words sink into him, before returning to his place, a scowl deeper than usual on his face.

Not far from them, Matsumoto looked worriedly at her captain. He was stiff, with his brows furrowed and his fists clenched. The usual frown on his face was even more prominent now, and worry and concern were etched into his eyes. "Taicho, are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

Matsumoto sighed. "If you say so…"

As she turned back to the field, she silently prayed in her mind. _I hope Karin-chan's going to be alright… or else we're all going to need some warmer clothes for the coming days…_

XXXXX

Karin lay on the ground, head pounding, body aching. Her hand tightened slightly on her zanpakuto as she waited for the expected blow to land.

_My vision is blurring out. Am I losing? No, I can't lose… I don't wanna lose…_

Karin's body desperately tried to gather enough energy to stand back on her feet, while her mind tried to think of something to do before it was too late. Suddenly, she felt the pain alleviate and her vision cleared to see the cloudy blue sky. She tried to stand up, but she found out that she couldn't move. She panicked.

_What's going on?_

The faint sound of giggles flowed into Karin's mind, followed by a soft, soothing voice that reminded her of her mother's voice. Her nostalgia was quickly interrupted as her mind interpreted the context of the words spoken by the soft voice.

**You don't want to lose? Why? What is your will?**

Karin's mind instantly grasped what the voice was. It was her zanpakuto. Ichigo had talked to her about his own experiences when "old man Zangetsu" talked to him, that when in a life-or-death situation, communication between the zanpakuto and wielder becomes easier because of the desperate situation.

_I can't lose because… I… _Karin was surprised when she realized that she didn't have a reason for not wanting to lose. She just didn't. Was it pride or ego?_ I don't know._

**You don't know? That's kind of disappointing, but not unexpected. Well, at least you are being honest, and that's a start. Nonetheless, you wish to win, and that is part of your will. Very well, I shall lend my power to you and assist you for now. But until you learn to overcome the fears and shadows within your heart, I will not reveal my true self to you.**

_What…?_ Karin tried to ask, confused about what her zanpakuto was trying to convey.

**Awaken, and fight, my child.**

As Karin felt the pain rush back into her body, she heard another faint voice. At first she thought it was her zanpakuto that spoke to her, but she realized that the voice had a different tone to it. It was rougher and deeper than the gentle and soothing voice of her zanpakuto.

_**Kick his ass!**_

Karin didn't pay too much mind to that voice as she felt power – or was it adrenaline? – rush through her veins, which allowed her to raise her zanpakuto to block Akihiko's oncoming slash just in time. The unsuspecting boy's eyes visibly widened as Karin struggled to stand up and push him back. What shocked him even more was Karin's zanpakuto; it was no longer in its standard form. Both the hilt and the guard have changed into black and white; the left side of the guard was white while the right was black, and the color was reversed for the hilt. Attached to the hilt were 2 elegant straps of cloth. They were, not surprisingly, black and white as well. The blade was now transparent, looking very similar to crystal. The crowd from afar could barely make out the outline of the blade if not for the glint of light caused by the refraction of sunlight.

"Wha – " Akihiko stumbled upon seeing the transformed blade. He was confused. Wasn't the Kurosaki girl the only one who didn't achieve shikai in their graduating class? And even if she did have shikai, why didn't he even hear Karin call upon its name?

The strain in her legs was making Karin's effort unbearable. She gritted her teeth and hissed out in frustration. "Get. Away. From. ME!"

As soon as the sentence finished, the blade of Karin's zanpakuto glowed a brilliant pure white, and a blast of spiritual energy was sent forward. Akihiko, who was caught off-guard, was hit dead on. He fell backwards, unconscious, as the blade returned to its translucent crystal-like state.

_What was that?_

Everyone was thinking of the same question as the shinigami announced that the win belonged to Kurosaki Karin. After a period of silence, movement seemed to erupt from the crowd. Ichigo, Toushirou, and Rei rushed towards Karin as the 4th Division squad members carried Akihiko off.

"Karin! Are you alright? You look like crap!" Ichigo asked, looking over Karin's injuries. Karin, however, paid him no mind. She was staring and inspecting the new form of her zanpakuto.

"Hey! Karin! Don't ignore me!" Ichigo said, shaking his baby sister's shoulder gently. "You know, the fight's over. You don't have to keep your shikai out. But, damn! The thing that you did, that was pretty cool!"

By this time, Toushirou and Rei had also arrived. Matsumoto arrived a few seconds later. The strawberry blond tapped her captain's should and whispered to him. "Taicho, isn't it… strange…? Karin-chan's zanpakuto suddenly changed without any indication…"

Toushirou nodded in agreement. Even if they were observing the fight from afar, they should have at least heard her release. But there was absolutely no indication that Karin moved, let alone talked. Somehow, she was able to swing her zanpakuto up just in time to prevent her defeat. _And that last attack, the blast looked like compressed spiritual energy, similar to Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho…_

He walked over to the stunned girl, who still seemed to be in a trance, and propped her chin up with his index finger. "You there?"

Karin broke out of her stupor and smiled upon seeing Toushirou. "Yeap! I'm fine!"

Then she fainted.

Her zanpakuto clattered to the floor with the sound of metal contacting earth despite its crystal-like appearance, and slowly faded completely away. The onlookers watched in amazement as it reappeared behind Karin, who was caught by Toushirou before she fell. Still in its new state, it hung in a sheath with a design similar to that of its guard and hilt, connected to Karin's obi with 2 metal chains.

"Let's get her to 4th Division." Toushirou said, gazing down at the unconscious girl in his arms.

"Agreed." The worried group disappeared in a flash, and not long after, the training grounds were once again silent.

XXXXX

"Kurosaki-taicho, Hitsugaya-taicho. She's fine. It would be wiser if the two of you retire for the night."

Ichigo's pacing and Toushirou's finger tapping halted as they both turned towards the door where Unohana stood. They both nodded, but didn't move from their respective places; Ichigo in front of Karin's bed and Toushirou on the windowsill.

Unohana sighed. "She will recover in her own time. It would not help if she woke up and found the two of you exhausted and collapsed, would it?"

Ichigo nodded once again and motioned for Toushirou to follow. The white haired captain only shook his head, then continued to fix his gaze on Karin's sleeping form. The standing captains could only glance back at Toushirou, then quietly leave the room.


	4. Chapter 3: World Within

**Our Hearts Intertwined**

Chapter 3 – World Within

Karin woke up to find herself once again staring that the sky. Something feels different, she thought. She propped herself up and realized with surprise that she was sitting on water. The water rippled as her hand lifted from its resting place, but other than that, she felt as if she was sitting on solid ground.

After she stood up, Karin tilted her head and stared upwards. There were clouds slowly drifting above her, occasionally casting her in shadows. As she continued gazing, she suddenly noticed that there was blinking in the sky. Narrowing her eyes, she realized that the blinking objects were actually stars, in broad daylight! The calm breeze blew past her as she continued to ponder about her whereabouts and the strange phenomenon that she was witnessing.

_This is weird… I'm not nervous at all even though I have absolutely no idea where I am… in fact, I actually feel comfortable here…_

As Karin sat down again due to the lack of anything else to do, her peripheral vision caught sight of blackness. Behind her was an environment completely different from the one she was in; the sky was dark, with a lone waned moon hanging in the sky. Before she was able to stand up and make her way over to the darkened place, a familiar soothing voice called out to her.

"It wouldn't be wise for you to go over there right now. You're not ready."

Karin spun around and stared at the woman who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The familiar voice led Karin to assume that she is the manifestation of her zanpakuto, and that she is in her inner world.

Karin couldn't help but gape at her zanpakuto. The woman's long, wavy white hair cascaded down her back and reached her hips, gently flowing along with the breeze. She was wearing a long, white, elegant gown that reached her ankles; it gave the woman a majestic and noble look. A thin crown adored her head; the black star situated at the center contrasted sharply with the white behind it. A smile graced her lips as she waited for Karin to finish her inspection.

"I'm glad you're finally here with me." The woman said, snapping Karin's mouth shut as she recovered from her gaping.

The raven haired girl grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "Me too. I was starting to worry that I'll never get here…" _That I'll never achieve shikai…_ Karin looked up as her expression turned serious. "I'm here to ask you some questions, I guess."

The woman nodded in agreement, then sat down to face Karin. After staring at each other in silence, Karin finally spoke.

"I… What should I call you?"

Karin's zanpakuto smiled again, as if acknowledging her wielder's question. "I see that you understand that even though you have come here, you have yet to acquire my name." At this, Karin nodded. The zanpakuto continued, "You may call me Hoshi (*Star)."

"Alright, Hoshi… Um… when you said that I'm not ready to go over there," Karin pointed to the darkness with her thumb, "what do you mean? Is there, like, anything that's dangerous over there?"

Sudden images of Ichigo talking about an inner hollow flashed through her mind, and she gasped upon realizing the possibility that the darkness may contain her own inner hollow. Panic started to well up inside of her, but she forced it down and waited patiently for her zanpakuto to answer.

Hoshi seemed to have sensed Karin's distress. She smiled at the panicking girl reassuringly and replied, "Yes, it is dangerous, for now. But don't worry, you do not have an inner hollow."

"Then what is it? What's dangerous?"

"It's a part of your own world that you're not ready to face. As I said before, you must be able to overcome your fears and shadows before you are ready and able to confront the other half of your mindscape. By then, it will no longer be dangerous. In fact, it'll be quite the opposite."

"What do you mean by 'overcome my fears and shadows'? What fears and shadows?" Karin asked. She herself believed that she didn't fear anything, not even death.

Hoshi only shook her head. "You must find out on your own, Karin, in order to prove that you are worthy of hearing my true name and wielding me."

Karin nodded and looked back to stare at the lone waned moon in, as she now learned, the other half of her mindscape. She contemplated about her possible fears, but none came to mind. Before she could think further, Hoshi spoke up again.

"You should go back now. There's someone waiting for you."

Karin raised her brow. "Waiting for me? Who?"

The beautiful woman only smiled once more. Karin didn't know if it was just her imagination or what, but somehow, the woman reminded her of her mother again.

"Just sleep, my child. You'll see."

Karin wanted to ask more, but she felt her eyelids becoming heavier and heavier, and soon, the world blacked out.

XXXXX

When Karin woke up once again, she woke up to darkness. She turned her head to her right and looked out the window. The night sky was calm and peaceful, and there were a few stars visible. It reminded Karin of the phenomenon in her inner world, and she realized that she forgot to ask Hoshi exactly why there were stars blinking in broad daylight. She'll have to try to remember to ask the question.

After she successfully propelled herself up into a sitting position on her bed, Karin saw that Toushirou was sitting in a chair to the left of her bed, his chin touching his chest as he slept in an upright position. She suddenly remembered what had happened before she entered her inner world; she had been fighting Akihiko. _That must have been hours ago since the exam started in the morning! I guess I slept longer than I thought I did…So he was who Hoshi was talking about. Toushirou must be worried sick if he's sleeping in a chair just to wait for me to wake up._

Deciding that Toushirou was too uncomfortable sleeping in that position and would definitely hurt his neck and spine, she gently shook the white haired captain's shoulders to wake him up. He immediately snapped into consciousness, body tense and senses high on alert. When he saw that it was only him and Karin, he breathed in relief. Whether it was because there was no enemy or because she was awake, she didn't know.

"You're awake." He stated. Karin nodded, and he continued. "How do you feel?"

The raven haired girl thought about it for a moment. "Tired. Exhausted. But fine. And… somewhat, calm. What happened? The last thing I remembered was you asking me a question."

"You fainted."

"WHAT?" The girl blushed in embarrassment. She cursed herself for her weakness. Toushirou must have sensed her concerns or somehow read her mind, because he said, "Don't worry about it. People who just acquired their shikai, or exerted too much energy when trying to do so, faint. It's no big deal."

The captain was hoping that Karin would hear his not so subtle comment about her zanpakuto; he and Matsumoto had pondered about it, and he needed to confirm their theory about the sword's new state. The girl did not disappoint him, for she perked up and asked, "Where's my zanpakuto?"

Her gaze was directed to the right side, and there, in front of her bed, was her sheathed sword leaning against the wall. Toushirou got up from his chair and stretched a little before fetching the sword for Karin to inspect. When she pulled out the blade from its sheath, her eyes widened in shock at the crystal-like blade.

"What's its name?" Toushirou asked. Straight to the point, like the strict and stoic captain he was.

Karin slid the blade back into place while sighing. "I don't know."

Toushirou's reply surprised her. "Just as I thought."

"You knew that I didn't know?"

The observant and analytical captain nodded and elaborated. "During your fight, your zanpakuto suddenly changed its form without any precaution or indication. Nobody heard you release it, so we speculated that it wasn't your shikai. Well, everyone except for Ichigo, of course. He thought that you were like him, with your zanpakuto in permanent shikai form."

Karin laughed and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it isn't. Hoshi said that I had to overcome my fears and shadows before I achieve shikai. She only lent me some of her powers."

"Hoshi?"

"Oh. That's the nickname for my zanpakuto, since I don't know her true name. I guess that when I fainted, I went into my inner world. We had a chat about it."

Toushirou stared at Karin for quite a while. It was long enough to make her feel uncomfortable. "What?" She asked to dissipate the awkward tension that had started to form when the silence began.

"Fears and shadows?"

Though his wording wasn't clear, Karin understood perfectly what he was asking. "I don't know myself. But there must be something if the extension of my soul tells me so."

"Yeah, that makes sense. Anyways, you should rest some more. We'll take about it in the morning. Now that you're alright, I'm going to go as well. Still need to wake up early in the morning because Matsumoto's going to be too drunk to come to work."

Karin chuckled at Toushirou's annoyed voice, then waved goodbye at him before he turned around and slid out the door into the night.

XXXXX

**- Hueco Mundo -**

Eight figures clad in white settled down around the large table placed at the center of the room. Their presence seemed to scream one thing: danger. The room itself emitted an ominous feeling, and the hatred towards the room that was seeping out from the figures just made it all the more so.

"It's about time, ain't it?" One figure said while resting his legs on the table and making himself comfortable in his chair.

"Please show some manners." A woman spoke up, slapping the man's thigh. The man pouted and complied.

Another man spoke up. "It is about time. The plan must be placed into action very soon. We have already made sure that we are absolutely prepared to take down those shameless, vulgar shinigami, and we will do so."

"Shameless and vulgar?" The woman replied, "That's the nicest way to describe them. They're –"

"Enough."

The room seemed to quiet down at this simple command. The seven other figures turned their attention to the one who spoke.

"We already know what the shinigami are like; there's no need to describe them again and again. There is only one thing that we must do: take them down. Take over Soul Society. We must bring back the dignity that the bastard Aizen destroyed. We must have our revenge."

XXXXX

"You're alright!" Rei exclaimed. He checked his best friend from head to toe before he was sure that she had fully recovered. Karin looked annoyed that he was babying her, but he didn't care.

"Of course I'm alright. What do you expect?"

"I don't know… you were pretty beaten up yesterday, and you even fainted. Scared the crap out of us. If it wasn't for Hitsugaya-taicho there to catch you, you would've sported a nasty bruise on your face."

Karin blushed in embarrassment again. "Shut up. Fainting is normal. And of course Toushirou's there to catch me. He was here when I woke up yesterday night too."

_He's been doing stuff like this for a long time, yet this ignorant girl never seems to understand why… I wonder if Hitsugaya-taicho is doing it intentionally or not…_ Rei though, shaking his head. "Anyways, you still gotta tell me about your zanpakuto."

Karin reached out to grab her said sword. "I don't really know too much about it. When I was sleeping, I entered my inner world and talked with my zanpakuto. She told me that I must overcome my fears and shadows before I am able to learn her true name."

"So in short, she helped you during the fight, but you didn't actually gain shikai."

"Yeah, that sums it up."

The two thought in silence before Rei pulled out Karin's academy uniform and handed it to her. "Here, dress up. I need to get you out of here within the next hour. In case you don't remember, today is our graduation ceremony and celebration."

"Shit! Why didn't you say so at the beginning!?" Karin jumped up and grabbed the uniform before pushing Rei out of the room. Within the next 15 minutes, they were already back at the academy, standing in line with the other students. All 13 Protection Squad captains were present; the division appointment was an important part – actually, the most important part – of the graduation ceremony. Similar to the final test, the academy headmaster made a speech, though this time it was significantly shorter since the division appointment would take quite long.

"Which division do you want to get in the most?" Karin asked Rei. The bright haired boy turned to look at the girl's excited and anticipatory face before replying, "It's doesn't matter as long as it's not the 4th Division."

Karin snickered quietly when she remembered the time when Rei tried to heal someone's wound with kido, but instead ripped the wound even more. The pain was so intense that the poor guy screamed. Rei blushed and said, "Shut up. You know I'm more of an offensive person."

"Whatever. I guess I'm the same as you, but I want to get in either 10th or 13th Division."

"Not 5th? You don't want to be under Kurosaki-taicho?" Rei questioned.

"Of course not! If I'm part of the 5th Division, Ichi-nii wouldn't let me do anything!"

"Right. So, 10th for Hitsugaya-taicho and 13th for Kuchiki-fukutaicho?"

"Yeah. I'm more inclined towards Toushirou's division, but being in Ukitake-taicho and Rukia-nee's division would be fine too."

Kuchiki Rukia was finally promoted to the 13th Division's vice-captain after intensive debate between Ukitake and Byakuya. The latter was adamant on not letting his sister take over such a dangerous position, but when the former was backed up by Ichigo and Rukia herself, Byakuya had no choice but to agree. After she was promoted, a war almost started when Byakuya learned that Ichigo was dating his sister. Those were tense times, but in the end, the stoic noble captain had to back off and accept the rude and newly made captain of the 5th Division.

The ceremony continued in a similar fashion – you get called up, appointed a division, and handed an official shinigami uniform.

"Kawashita Rei. 6th Division."

Karin gave Rei a thumbs up, which the boy returned. _6__th__ Division's pretty cool too; even though Kuchiki-taicho is there, Renji's there as well. He'll make everything fun and interesting._

"Kurosaki Karin. 13th Division."

_Yeah!_ Karin inwardly cheered. But she was a little bit disappointed that she wasn't in Toushirou's division. _Oh well, 13__th__ is pretty close to 10__th__, so I guess I'll still be seeing him pretty often._

When the ceremony ended, the graduates were allowed to go back to their dorms before attending the celebration. Karin and Rei, however, chose to go directly. Not too long after that, the celebration started. Many of the officers were present: Ichigo, Hinamori, Renji, Kyouraku, Nanao, Toushirou, Matsumoto, Ukitake, Rukia, Kotetsu, and Sentaro. The celebration lasted long into the night, with music and laughter in the air. It was indeed a day for celebration.

XXXXX

**- Living World -**

A shadow flashed across the sky. It halted on a telephone pole, and looked out into the night sky of Karakura Town. The figure had wild blond hair that defied gravity, spiking out in random directions. He was wearing a form fitting white vest accompanied by loose hakama that was also white. Two swords hung parallel on his hips, held up by a black obi. The man grinned. It's been so long since he last stepped foot in this world.

"Things are finally moving into action. It's going to become interesting."

The figure raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. A giant crack slowly appeared in the sky behind the figure, and low level hollows crept out of the crack like molten lava pouring out of a volcano. The figure nodded, and the many hollows dispersed into town in different directions.

In the empty 12th Division lab, the silence was disturbed by a sudden beeping of the monitor as various red dots spread out on the screen.


	5. Chapter 4: Trouble Brewing

**Our Hearts Intertwined**

Chapter 4 – Trouble Brewing

The days after the celebration went by quickly. Karin and Rei attended their division orientations and were immediately assigned a squad. Karin was now a part of Squad 7, under Inaka Eiji. She was taken on a short tour around her division building and briefed about the division and duties. Captain Ukitake was usually sick, so the captain duties were mostly taken over by Vice Captain Kuchiki and 3rd Seats Sentaro and Kiyone. The 13th Division's typical duty was to patrol Soul Society and the Senkaimon that leads to the living world, though they would be occasionally sent on missions.

Currently, Karin was on duty, patrolling the Senkaimon. It was calm and peaceful, and Karin relaxed and stared at the beautiful garden. Her mind drifted to the conversation that she had accidentally overheard some time ago.

_**Flashback**_

"Kuchiki-fukutaicho!" Karin heard Kiyone and Sentaro shout at the same time. Said girl was just about to greet her superiors when she suddenly stopped in her steps and hid behind the tree, suppressing her reiatsu at the same time. She quietly observed the 3 people huddled together, whispering. There was something weird and strange going on if the usually loud and enthusiastic 3rd seats were whispering. She strained her ears to hear their conversation.

"Kuchiki-fukutaicho! Are you going to attend the Captain's meeting for Ukitake-taicho?" Kiyone asked.

Rukia, adopting her serious noble persona, shook her head. "No. This meeting is strictly limited to the captains. The vice captains will be informed after about the content of the meeting. Ukitake-taicho specifically ordered me to tell the two of you not to disturb him."

"What! But we have to escort -" The 3rd Seats exclaimed at the same time, but was silenced by a stern look from the shorter girl.

"Our captain is perfectly capable of making his way to the 1st Division on his own."

The usually noisy duo nodded and stalked away to do their jobs.

_**End of flashback**_

Exactly what was so secret about this meeting? Karin wondered. She shook her head and pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She'll ask Toushirou later.

XXXXX

"We will now begin the meeting." Yamamoto announced, slamming his sword in disguise onto the floor. "Kurotsuchi-taicho, please step forward and report your most recent findings."

There were consecutive sounds of cloth shifting as the mad scientist of the 13 Protection Squads stepped forward. The tension was heavy in the room, creating an uncomfortable period of silence as the captains waited for the screen projection to appear.

"There has been a strange disturbance in the living world, more specifically a lot of recent hollow activities in Karakura. As you can see from the screen," Kurotsuchi said as he gestured to the red dots blinking and spreading on the projection, "the amount of hollow activity has surged way pass the normal levels. This is no ordinary occurrence."

"Can you further elaborate? How's it not ordinary?" Kyouraku asked.

"Well, other than the surge in hollow activities, these are all regular hollows. However, it has been recorded that there is a certain, specific pattern of their activities." The projection changed to show a graph depicting the frequency of appearances and disappearances of the hollows. "These hollows retreat almost immediately after they first enter the living world."

After quiet contemplating, Unohana's low, melodic voice filled the room. "I believe it would be a good idea to send in an investigation team."

"That is precisely why I gathered you here. I do not wish to create a false alert and disturb the peace of Soul Society," replied Yamamoto, "But we cannot disregard this phenomenon. Though slim, there are still possible threats that are lingering in Hueco Mundo."

"Lemme go! It's been so boring around here lately, and I've been itching for some action!" Zaraki said, a feral grin threatening to split his face into half.

"Zaraki, it seems as if your intelligence is really that of a mentally disabled."

"What didya say, Kuchiki?"

"This is an investigation mission. You are there to look for the causes of the hollows' irrational behavior, not fight like a blood thirsty animal."

The two rivals locked each other in a glaring contest as the rest of the captains sighed in annoyance.

"I believe that I have the perfect candidates for this mission." Ukitake said, breaking the stalemate. "I propose that we send the squad from my division. The one with Karin-chan."

"What? NO!" Ichigo immediately exclaimed, nervous about sending his baby sister on such a dangerous mission. Ukitake, however, didn't seem too surprised at Ichigo's outburst.

"Ichigo-kun, you must admit, Karin-chan is very much capable of going on this mission. Not to mention, she came here with the memories of the living world intact, which gives her an advantage over the situation."

Ukitake's words shut Ichigo up.

The room stood tense once more, and it was obvious to the captains that the temperature in the room was rapidly dropping to a level that was beyond normal. Even Ichigo seemed to calm down upon feeling the chill snake up his skin and under his clothes. Everyone's attention was directed to the 10th Division captain. Surprisingly, the captain remained quiet, and the meeting was soon adjourned with Squad 7 and Karin confirmed as the investigation team that was to be sent to the living world.

Toushirou left the room without a word, his brows creasing and the frown on his face intensified. He was reluctant to let her go, but he was in no position to stop her from going, and he knew how much this mission would mean to her; it was her first real mission as a shinigami, after all.

He sighed.

XXXXX

Karin felt the air rush past her as the adrenaline in her veins prompted her to shunpo faster towards the 10th Division for her weekly dinner with Toushirou. Their weekly dinner had become a tradition since Karin's second year in the academy. Sometimes they would go to Rukongai as well, but today they were going to the restaurant that they usually went to, located right near the 10th Division.

"Toushirou!" Karin shouted as the captain's white head came into view. She stopped right in front of him "Guess what! I got my first mission! I'm going back to the World of Living!"

The cool-headed captain pushed himself off from the wall he was leaning against and greeted the excited girl. "Yeah, I know. Congrats."

When Toushirou saw Karin's wide, almost face splitting grin, he sighed and shook his head. He could feel the worry stirring in the pit of his stomach. "Just remember, don't get into any trouble."

"I won't!" Karin exclaimed, pretending to be insulted and pouting at Toushirou. "Come on, let's go! I'm hungry!"

Karin proceeded to drag the usually stoic captain to the restaurant. It was quite an unusual sight, and anyone who hadn't witnessed the scene before would have been bewildered that the Ice Captain of the Thirteen Protection Squads would actually allow a woman to literally drag him. But then again, the person who was dragging him was no ordinary woman. She was a Kurosaki.

Soon later, the two settled down in a booth and placed their orders. A comfortable silence enveloped them as Toushirou eyed his female companion. She seemed to be shining and glowing with the excitement flowing out of her. He decided to let his worry go for now and try not to dampen Karin's high spirits. Fortunately for him, the dinner was filled with chatting and casual conversation.

"Are you having any progress with Hoshi?" Toushirou asked Karin. On their way back to the 10th Division barracks, Karin had decided that she was too hyper to just go back and do nothing. The two of them were now strolling leisurely around Seireitei.

"No. Nothing at all." The girl replied, her previous spirit slightly dampened. "I've been trying to communicate with her ever since then, but Hoshi is not responding even when I try to meditate. I still can't think about the fears and shadows that she referred to."

Seeing Karin's slightly depressed face once again stirred the worry in Toushirou's stomach. He had a sudden urge to just hug the girl and comfort her, but instead, he chose another thing to do that he knew would be more effective in cheering her up. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Wanna spar?"

Just as he predicted, Karin's eyes lit up at she looked at him hopefully. Toushirou felt the familiar smirk that always seem to appear when he was with Karin crawl up his face. Both of them shot off to the 10th Division training grounds at the same time.

One and an hour half later, the two can be found sprawling on the half damaged ground, both of them sweating and panting from the intense fight. Karin raised up her zanpakuto and admired it glinting in the light, before catching what seemed to be a reflection of Toushirou wiping off the sweat on his forehead with his torn up uniform. Her eyes automatically started to train the sweat drop sliding down his brow and down to his neck.

Karin suddenly found herself blushing intensely as she realized she had been daydreaming about one of her longtime best friends. _What the hell! Karin, snap out of it!_ She shook her head intensely.

"What are you doing?" Toushirou asked. "Did you hit your head?"

"No! Nothing!" Karin replied, laughing awkwardly. "Anyways, thanks for the spar. I really needed it."

She saw her best friend smirk. "No problem."

"Ano…" The two people lying on the floor looked up towards the source of the reiatsu that they have felt some time ago. A girl who Karin recognized from Toushirou's division was hiding behind the door, as if she was afraid of interrupting. Karin narrowed her eyes. The girl had a small blush on her face. "Hi… Hitsugaya-tai… taicho," the girl stuttered, "Matsumoto-fukutaicho is… is looking for… for you…"

"Oh." Toushirou stood up from the floor and helped Karin up. "Guess I'll be leaving. Sorry, but you're gonna have to get home yourself."

"Pu-lease!" Karin said, emphasizing the word, "I can get home on my own just fine! You don't have to be babysitting me all the time. Get your big ass going!"

Karin pushed Toushirou's shoulder, and the captain sighed a little before exiting the training grounds, waving back at her without facing her. "See you."

"Yeah!"

As the doors closed to leave Karin in the silence of the training grounds, Karin's eyes, which had been following Toushirou's back, caught a glimpse of the 10th Division girl's eyes.

They were glaring at her with the intent to kill.

XXXXX

Ichigo looked at the scene with pride in his eyes. His baby sister is now standing in front of the Senkaimon, listening to her squad leader talk about the instructions for her first mission, in the living world no less. The overprotective brother sighed as he reflects on how his sister has grown over the years. _She is now a completely independent person who more and more people are starting to rely on… though I don't think I'm ready to let go of my role as a brother…_

"Alright," Inaka Eiji said to his squad members, "pair off now. Remember to take your positions once you enter the living world. Our job is only to patrol. Don't do anything unnecessary unless a hollow appears, and stay together no matter what. Report back here at the appointed time. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Then let's go!"

Karin immediately headed towards Karakura Park after they entered the living world. As she led Aika, her assigned partner, to the park, she smiled. After all these years, she was finally back.

For the first while during their patrol, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Then, a gust of wind that blew strongly from behind put Karin high on alert. She swiveled around on her foot just in time to push herself and Aika away from the oncoming slash of a hollow. The two immediately drew out their zanpakutos to fend off the hollow, but in that instant, they were completely surrounded.

Karin grit her teeth at the situation she found herself in. She cursed under her breath. _Damn! They didn't warn us about this!_

"Oh! Shinigamis!"

Karin and Aika both grew stiff when they heard the eerily distorted yet authoritative voice of a hollow. An arrancar stepped out from behind a tree casually. Karin only had time to scan over his attire before he spoke again.

"This is good! It's been quite some time since these hollows have been fed. You two will make a good meal for them."

As the arrancar's last note fell from his mouth, the hollows situated behind him charged forward with defending cries. Karin and Aika immediately sprang into action, fending off the hollows to the best of their abilities.

_There are too many of them! They just keep coming!_ Karin's mind raced as the hollow in front of her disintegrated. She turned around to tell Aika to retreat, but instead dashed forward to protect her oblivious partner. She locked blades with the arrancar that had been watching the scene until now. The two stood at a standstill until Karin growled out, "Why is an arrancar here? Are there more of you left? What are the arrancars planning now!?"

The arrancar smirked, then disappeared in a flash of sonido. Karin jumped back just in time to avoid a bala. "My, my. Aren't you rude, young lady? Don't you know that you're supposed to introduce yourself before asking who someone else is?"

Karin scowled. "Kurosaki Karin."

"Kurosaki?" The arrancar repeated, as if stunned.

The scowl on the already irritated girl's face deepened. "You got a problem with that?"

The two continued to exchange blows. Karin noticed that a certain radius around the arrancar was lacking of any lesser hollow. She frowned. Is he just playing with her? Otherwise, the hollows could have ambushed her any time.

"Are you by any chance related to Kurosaki Ichigo? I did not know that he had a daughter."

"Of course he doesn't have any daughters!" Karin exclaimed at the outrageous statement. "He's not even married!"

"Then who are you?"

"I'm his sister!"

After a small period of contemplation, the arrancar spoke. "I see. As for your questions, young lady, I am Drake, the 5th of the Infierno."

"The Infierno? What's that? Something similar to the Espada?"

The grin on Drake's face widened before he disappeared once again. Karin immediately tried to pinpoint his location, but she suddenly lurched forward as she felt pain sear through her abdomen. Forcing herself to move, she swung Hoshi sideways and shot off a spiritual blast, effectively destroying the hollow that had indeed ambushed her.

"Karin! Are you ok?" Aika asked after shunpo'ing next to the injured girl.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But not for very long if we don't so something about this…" She trailed off as four hollows surrounded and started to advance upon them.

"Hado 33, Soukatsui!"

A third, familiar voice called out, and the hado that followed Eiji's voice destroyed one of the four hollows surrounding them. Soon after, the rest of the squad appeared.

"Get to the two of them first!" Eiji gestured to Aika and Karin as he commanded the shinigami nearest to him. With a quick "Yes, sir!" the shinigami disappeared. Eiji turned back to access the situation quickly before joining back into the battle.

Then, everything stopped.


	6. Chapter 5: Challenge

**Our Hearts Intertwined**

Chapter 5 – Challenge

_Why does she always end up here lately?_

Toushirou shunpo'ed by a 4th Division member, avoiding him by a mere few millimeters. The poor fellow was shocked by the sudden gush of air that blew pass him and dropped the medical supplies he was holding. Matsumoto, who had been following closely behind her captain, muttered a quick apology before speeding off.

As the two neared the emergency room, they could make out 3 figures. Ichigo was pacing to and fro in front of the room, stopping occasionally to glance at the closed doors. Rukia was sitting on the bench outside, and Rei was leaning against the wall in his signature position of crossed arms and closed eyes.

"Toushirou!" Ichigo's call snapped the attention of the other two who were in deep thought to the white-headed captain.

"Hitsugaya-taicho!" They called out in unison.

"How is she? And what happened?"

"We don't know yet," Ichigo replied irritably, "The whole squad's in there. Yama-jii wanted to call a meeting, so we're waiting for the squad leader."

At that moment, the door opened, and Hanatarou emerged, followed by Eiji and Aika. Upon seeing Toushirou's gaze on Aika, Eiji explained, "Aika here was Kurosaki-san's partner during this mission, and she's the only one who knows what happened before the rest of the squad got there."

Toushirou nodded. Before he was able to leave for the 1st Division, Ichigo's question halted the steps of the 10th Division captain, as well as those of the other shinigami present.

"Oi, Hanatarou! How's Karin?"

"Um…" The shy boy fidgeted under the intense and intimidating gaze of the carrot top captain, "Kurosaki-san has a large wound in her abdomen that caused her to lose a lot of blood. Currently, her condition is stable, but she's still unconscious…"

Ichigo sighed in relief. "At least she's safe. Let's go. We have a meeting to attend to."

There was a heavy tension hanging around the group as they filed into the 1st Division meeting room once again for the umpteenth time. Aika looked around nervously, for this was the first time she was in the presence of all the captains and vice captains. Also, she was afraid of the officers' reactions to the news that she was about to report. She hoped she would survive.

On the other hand, Eiji looked perfectly comfortable as he bowed. "Yamamoto-soutaicho. Taichos and fukutaichos. I am Inaka Eiji, the squad leader for this time's mission."

"Speak of what you know of the situation." Yamamoto commanded.

"Yes, sir. After we arrived at the living world, the squad immediately spread out around the town to patrol each assigned area. Everything was normal until we felt a disturbance in Karakura Park, where Kurosaki-san and Aika-san were patrolling at. When we arrived at the scene, the two of them were surrounded by a few dozen hollows. Kurosaki-san was already injured then. We joined the fight immediately, but soon after, all of the hollows suddenly retreated. It was like all of them were programmed to leave as soon as we arrived. That is all I know. I do not know of what happened before we got to the park.

All of the people turned their attention to Aika, and the girl stepped forward, stuttering a little as she spoke quietly, "I was searching for abnormalities when Karin suddenly pushed me out of a hollow's attack. I hadn't even sense the hollow the previous moment, and the next, we were completely surrounded by them. We immediately started to fend them off. Then…"

Aika trailed off, then whispered so quietly that the others barely heard. "Then Karin saved my life a second time. From an arrancar."

"An arrancar!?" Soifon exclaimed, "In the living world!?"

Yamamoto banged his cane against the floor to silence the commotion that had erupted as soon as the word "arrancar" left Aika's mouth. "Continue."

Aika nodded meekly. "The arrancar showed himself after the first hollow attacked and before we started fighting the hollows, then disappeared. He didn't make any moves until he tried to ambush me. Karin intercepted the arrancar before he reached me. She talked to him while fighting; about what, I don't know. I did notice that the arrancar purposely kept the hollows away from them during the conversation. The next thing I knew was that Karin was ambushed by a hollow, and that the arrancar was once again gone."

"Is there anything else worthy of mention?"

"I believe not… oh, wait! The arrancar was wearing a uniform similar to those that the arrancars under Aizen wore! And he had two zanpakutos instead of one."

"Is it possible that Aizen is behind this?" Unohana asked.

"That's impossible! He's dead!" Ichigo exclaimed, refusing to believe that Aizen still had any remaining plots to destroy Soul Society.

Toushirou spoke up. "I do not believe this is Aizen's doing. If he were alive, he would have known that we assume him dead, and it would be a great advantage for him. He wouldn't have drawn attention to his actions so bluntly."

Yamamoto nodded. "I agree with Hitsugaya-taicho. I believe we must wait until Kurosaki Karin awakes to get further information on the arrancar. Before that, though, I would like to send a group of people to Urahara Kisuke. He may have more information regarding this situation."

"I'm going." Ichigo immediately voiced out. He was chorused by Rukia, and Toushirou reluctantly accepted the mission after he was named by the head captain.

Toushirou took a deep breath as the captains and vice captains started to file out of the 1st Division. He had wanted to go check on Karin, but now he couldn't, since their small investigation group was leaving straight away.

As Toushirou, Ichigo, and Rukia proceeded to the Senkaimon, Ukitake and Kyouraku headed back to the 13th Division.

"Things have gotten serious, ne?" Kyouraku asked his longtime companion.

Ukitake nodded in agreement. "It seems like another war is approaching as the aftermath of the Winter War, even though that was quite a while ago…"

The two of the wisest and oldest captains looked at each other before they continued on their way with grave expressions on their faces as they each thought back to the Winter War.

XXXXX

"Ara! My, my, who do we have here!? It's such an honor to have two captains and a vice captain of Seireitei visiting my humble adobe! What may I do for you?" Urahara Kisuke said as he led his guests into his shop. He had on his usual attire: his fan was out, and his bucket hat was shadowing his eyes.

His playful tone seemed to hit on the nerves of the three shinigamis. Ichigo, who was always extremely impatient, and irritated at the moment, started to explain what happened to Karin to Urahara. The older man listened quietly, all the while playing with his fan. When Ichigo finished, he asked, "So you're saying our dear Karin-chan was attacked by an arrancar?"

Rukia nodded. "There's also the issue of the hollows' unusual appearances and disappearances."

"Hm… What's so unusual about their appearances and disappearances?"

"Don't act like you don't know, Urahara." Toushirou said, his eyebrows twitching. His patience was running thin as he felt the intense urge to return to Seireitei and check on Karin.

"What in the world are you saying, Hitsugaya-taicho? I'm nothing but a humble yet handsome manager of a small candy shop!"

"Quit acting, Urahara-san!" Ichigo snapped and grabbed the ex-captain's collar, pulling him close. "Karin was hurt! This is serious!"

For a while, Urahara didn't speak or reply at all. Then, the fan that was in his hand snapped closed, and Ichigo abruptly let him go as his eyes met with Urahara's slightly shadowed ones. There was a certain glint in his eyes that Ichigo wasn't accustomed to seeing on his previous mentor.

Urahara sighed, his eyes once again completely shadowed, before he looked up again. "Activity within the remaining arrancars has recently stirred up."

All of the shinigamis' faces perked up before turning deadly serious. "So there _are_ remaining arrancars in Hueco Mundo?"

"Yes," Urahara confirmed, "I believe that the recent irregular hollow appearances are most likely part of their preparations. Perhaps to eat more souls to gain more power?"

Toushirou frowned. "Does that mean they are planning an invasion, or trying to overtake Soul Society again?"

"There's going to be another war!?" Rukia exclaimed rather than asked.

Urahara nodded solemnly. "Most likely. Right now there's not a lot of available information, so I'm not certain about anything. I'm working with what I have now, but for the time being, I would suggest Gotei 13 to keep an eye out for any other disturbances and maybe increase surveillance."

The snapping open of Urahara's fan signaled to the group that he had nothing else to say. They thanked him before returning to Seireitei with heavy hearts.

XXXXX

Ever since Toushirou, Ichigo, and Rukia returned from the living world, Seireitei has been on alert. They were very cautious about the situation regarding the arrancars, and had taken Urahara's warning and advice to heart. Patrols were increased in frequency, squads were increasing their training sessions and practicing more rigorously, and all shinigamis were armed with their zanpakutos. Yamamoto had issued out the order as soon as Karin had diverged her conversation with the arrancar to the officers. News about Drake and the Infierno had spread around Seireitei like a wildfire.

Karin, as soon as she woke up, had returned to training with Hoshi. The incident made her realize just how much she needed to improve, and how much stronger she needed to get. After a week of training with Toushirou, Rukia, and sometimes Matsumoto, Karin had finally mastered the spiritual blast technique, and is now training to achieve her actual shikai.

The Kurosaki girl had been meditating a lot with Toushirou in order to talk to Hoshi about her fears and shadows, but somehow nothing ever went right during those sessions. Instead of entering her inner world to converse with her zanpakuto, she had been extremely distracted by Toushirou's own meditation that was usually right across from her own.

_I'm confused._ Karin thought as she walked on her way to the 10th Division dojo for another meditation session with her white-haired best friend. _Why am I always distracted by him?_

Karin began to think of how Toushirou always seems to know what she's thinking and what's on her mind, of the way he smiles at her in those rare times when he did smile. She began to flush as her mind flashed images of that drop of sweat making its way down Toushirou's shiny, smooth, and seemingly flawless skin, and her imagination of his sturdy abs and muscles made her flush even more. She didn't know why she's noticing all this about him. What she did know was that something within her stirred, and she felt an intense feeling threatening to overwhelm her. However, she shook her head to clear her mind before that happened and pushed that thought to the back of her mind. _Now's not the time to be thinking about meaningless and useless stuff like this!_

Abruptly, Karin's way was blocked by a mob a girls; they were from various divisions, but Karin noticed that they were mostly from the 10th Division. The short-tempered girl had to resist the urge to growl at them as she noticed their looks of contempt on their faces.

"This is her? She's not all that special." A girl from somewhere near the middle of the mob said. At this, Karin raised a brow and crossed her arms over her chest, annoyed that she was going to be late for her meeting with Toushirou.

"What do you want?" Karin snarled out.

The girl who was at the head of the group stepped out. "Leave Hitsugaya-taicho alone!" She screeched. "You're not good enough for him!"

Karin felt anger bubble inside of her when she heard that cliché statement that she thought only appeared in stories. Who the hell does she think she is to tell her that she wasn't good enough for Toushirou? Then she froze, surprised. Why was she letting this get to her? Usually, she would just ignore these insults! As her stormy gray eyes calmed down a bit, she decided to just "play it cool".

"What's between me and Toushirou is none of your business," Karin stated, and smiled smugly as she watched with satisfaction their faces turn sour, "Plus, Toushirou's my friend, so why should I leave him alone? If you're so jealous, go talk to Toushirou, not me, 'cause it ain't gonna change anything."

Their leader's face twisted into an expression that could only be described as ugly. Karin almost laughed out loud at her outraged face, but refrained from doing so as the angered woman spoke up.

"How dare you!" She screamed, then pointed a finger at Karin, "I challenge you! Fight me! If you lose, you will never ever again talk to Hitsugaya-taicho!"

Many of the gathered spectators gasped and started to whisper. She was challenging _Kurosaki Karin_, sister of the 5th Division captain and daughter of ex-captain Kurosaki Isshin!

"Haruko-san!" The girl who first spoke to insult Karin whispered with an urgent note in her voice. "Are you sure?"

"Of course! I , Nakasugi Haruko, will not lose to someone who doesn't even have shikai!"

The mentioning of her lack of shikai caused Karin's long accumulated frustration at her inability to achieve said shikai to burst, and she scowled back at Haruko. "Fine! I accept! And if I win, go bitch somewhere else and leave me and Toushirou alone!"

Karin and Haruko glared fiercely at each other, one with a blazing fire in her eyes, the other with intense jealousy, and both with the intent to kill.

The deal was on.


	7. Chapter 6: Fears and Shadows

**Our Hearts Intertwined**

Chapter 6 – Fears and Shadows

The barren ice land surrounding Toushirou welcomed him with a strong blast of icy wind. It, however, did not faze the captain in the slightest. Instead, he relished in the feeling of being back in his sanctuary.

Toushirou's lips twitched upward almost unnoticeably when a roar echoed from above him. Soon after, a giant ice dragon landed in front of the lone figure. As turquoise jade eyes met glowing blood red ones, the wind picked up around the dragon and shinigami, and a white-bluish glow appeared, dancing along with the wind.

"Master," The dragon growled, "it has been quite some time ago when you last called for me."

"Ah, that's true." Toushirou responded, pausing before he continued, "I'm troubled by our situation with the arrancar. There is this foreboding feeling… I'm not sure what to make of it."

"Master… you must trust yourself and your own decisions. Follow what your heart tells you, master, and things will play out themselves."

"What my heart tells me, huh?"

"Yes, master. And I am not only referring to the arrancar situation…"

Toushirou sighed. "Hyourinmaru, you already know what I think of my relationship with Karin."

"And I do not agree with what you think. Karin will always be there, but someday, she will no longer belong to you."

The captain's heart clenched as an image of the raven-haired girl with another man flashed through his mind. "I know."

As Toushirou replied, the scene faded out and he felt himself back in the 10th Division dojo, Hyourinmaru's growl echoing in his ear.

**Follow your heart, master. Follow your heart…**

His eyes still closed, the prodigy inhaled deeply as he thought over his conversation with Hyourinmaru.

It has been 3 years since he admitted his feelings for his best friend. Yes, _the_ Hitsugaya Toushirou has "strong affections" for Kurosaki Karin. It was such a sudden revelation to him that he wasn't able to block or deny his feelings. He had woken up from a disturbing yet hot dream of him and Karin making out. Ever since then, he reacts violently whenever the girl was around: his heart would start thumping rapidly, his palms would sweat, and he would feel an elevated feeling of happiness. He found his hold on his emotions slipping, but he didn't mind it at all.

Despite all that he felt, Toushirou didn't voice out any of his thoughts to Karin for fear of destroying their friendship, and also because of the lack of interest from Karin, romantically. She doesn't feel that way, he would always say to himself, It's good enough for me to be by her side.

He sighed once again before his eyes snapped open to revel turquoise-jade. His attention shifted to outside the dojo, and he frowned.

"Speaking of which, where is she? She's never late…"

Once again feeling the sense of overprotectiveness, Toushirou stood up and exited the dojo in search of Karin. On his slow walk to the 13th Division, he sensed a commotion from the 11th. A group of shinigami was rushing towards Toushirou's direction.

"Guys, hurry up! It's about to start!" One of them yelled. However, he was stopped the next second when Toushirou grabbed his arm and prevented him from leaving.

"What's going on?"

"Hitsugaya-taicho!" The shinigami saluted, "There has been rumors circulation around saying that there's going to be a fight between Kurosaki Karin of the 13th Division and Nagasuki Haruko of the 10th Division!"

"What?" Toushirou's eyes widened, "Where?"

"The general training fields, sir!"

The two shot off after a brief nod from Toushirou. When they arrived at the general training fields, Toushirou saw that Karin and Haruko were already in battle stances, their zanpakutos unsheathed.

"What are the two of you doing?" Toushirou asked firmly, effectively stopping the fight from breaking out between the 2 people. For now, at least.

"Toushirou!" "Hitsugaya-taicho!" The two opponents called out simultaneously.

Karin didn't give the white-headed captain the chance to speak as she yelled out, "Stay out of this, Toushirou! This is my fight!"

The fire burning and flaming in the angry Kurosaki's eyes stopped Toushirou from further speaking, or intervening.

As Karin turned back to face her opponent, she felt a bubble of fury in her. What is this woman thinking, challenging her for Toushirou!?

Then, she felt herself stiffen.

_For Toushirou…? What am I saying? He's not mine, so why am I so concerned? Right! I'm not angry over Toushirou! I'm angry because she challenged my shikai!_

Karin shifted her attention back to Haruko after she reached her conclusion. Upon feeling the tenseness of her own shoulders, Karin took a deep breath. _Remember the training with Toushirou, Rukia, and Matsumoto. Relax. Calm down._

Karin's stance relaxed and her reiatsu spread out in a gentle yet stable flow. The effects of her reiatsu caused some people to gasp under the pressure. Haruko, challenged by Karin's display of reiatsu, gritted her teeth and charged forward. For the first few minutes, the two opponents seemed as if they were on par, each strike and swing returned by the other. However, as the fight progressed, it was obvious that Haruko had the upper-hand. Even though Karin had an advantage of strength and power, she lacks experience and strategy needed in an actual battle.

As an act of desperation, Karin shot off another blast of compressed spiritual energy from her crystal-bladed zanpakuto, putting some distance between her and Haruko. She panted, keeping her already bruised and injured body steady with Hoshi as support.

_Important lesson: never underestimate your opponent, and DO NOT rush into fights like the impulsive idiot you are!_ Karin scolded herself. _I should have expected that real shinigami are nothing like those academy students._

Karin watched Haruko land lightly on her feet after she dodge Karin's attack, the disadvantaged girl's mind running through possible plans and different scenarios od what she could do. It was at that moment when she realized that Toushirou was never serious when training with her; otherwise, she would never be able to get in a hit. For the umpteenth time of the day, another whirlwind of emotion full of anger and frustration surged through her chest. Why was Toushirou not treating her like the real warrior she was, instead holding back? Was she not good enough?

**Karin…**

Said girl stilled her thoughts as the soft voice echoed through her mind. Suddenly, she found herself once again on the waters of her inner world, though this time there was a storm of waves swirling around her, drawing her attention to her feet. Past the reflection of herself, she could see the underwater torrents moving swiftly and powerfully.

"Hoshi, what's –"

When Karin turned to her ethereal beauty of a zanpakuto, her mouth clamped shut. Hoshi was looking at her with a solemn face.

"You emotions are in conflict, Karin," the zanpakuto said in her gentle yet firm voice, "You must stop denying and stop running away. You must accept yourself as who you are."

"Hoshi, I don't understand!" The confused girl exclaimed. "I don't know what I need to face! What am I hiding from? Running from?"

"Tell me, Karin. Why were you angry just seconds ago?"

The waves splashed violently once more as Karin recalled the reason. "Because Toushirou was treating me like some… some handicap!"

"And him treating you like that makes you angry because?"

Karin paused, and even though the waves stopped splashing, the underwater currents increased in so much strength that she could feel their vibrations from the surface of the water. Why, why, _why?_ Karin thought to herself.

Then everything calmed down, and her inner world returned to its peaceful nature, exactly the same as when Karin first entered it.

When Karin raised her head enough to allow Hoshi to see her eyes that were originally blocked by her bangs, there was a sense of resignation in them. Yet beneath, determination shined brightly as Karin spoke.

"Him treating me like that makes me angry because it makes me feel as if he doesn't acknowledge me and my strength. And I want him to acknowledge me because…" A smiled graced her features, "He's important to me."

Hoshi chuckled. "Even during times like these you still would not just admit that you like him. What a stubborn girl you are."

Karin blushed. "Hey! At least I tried!" The girl pouted, "And you know what I mean."

"Now, let me ask you again. Why can't you lose? Why are you fighting?"

"For Toushirou."

XXXXX

When Karin was thrust back into her fight, she marveled at the fact that even though it felt as if so much time had passed in her inner world, in reality not even a second had passed. Haruko was still opposite of her, with a smug smile etched onto her face.

Karin's own smirk snaked onto her face as she now held the knowledge of her zanpakuto's true name, and the first of her techniques. She grimaced as she thought of all the training sessions she would have to go through just to master this one technique, despite the fact that she had the basics down.

Haruko, impatient from the lack of action from her rival, yelled out, "Oi! What's wrong with you, making all those faces? Are you ready to just surrender? Prolonging this fight will only make you more embarrassed!"

The easily angered Kurosaki was about to retort when she remembered her own lesson. "We don't know anything until the fight ends." She replied calmly, hoisting herself up and standing straight and tall.

Haruko's smile dropped a bit. "Fine then. If you want to be embarrassed so much, I don't mind. I'll just end this quickly."

This time, instead of tensing when Haruko appeared to call for her shikai, Karin relaxed and fell into battle stance again; she had nothing to fear anymore. As Haruko finished yelling her release phrase, Karin gently whispered hers.

XXXXX

"_Pierce them, Harito!_ (*Needled One)"

Toushirou's worry started to mount even further as Haruko called for her shikai. As he watched his division member's zanpakuto transform into a form with many embedded needles on the blade, he started to wonder whether or not he should interfere; Karin hadn't been doing very well even when Haruko wasn't using shikai.

Then, even with all the chaos and noise, he heard Karin's soft voice whisper just as Haruko's shikai completed its transformation.

"_Shine, Seina…_ (*星娜)"

Everyone watched in awe as the hilt of Karin's zanpakuto change from half black and half white to completely white, as did the two straps and the guard. The crystal-like transparent blade slowly turned a glowing white as the color seemed to swirl and fill the blade, dancing and making irregular patterns within the crystal.

In a flash, Karin shunpo'ed in front of the half-shocked Haruko and swung down her shikai. "Shiroboshi! (*White Star)"

Everyone was blinded momentarily by the strong light that was emitted from Karin's zanpakuto, and the next thing they knew, Haruko was flying through the air after being hit by the strengthened compressed spiritual energy blast. The girl landed with a crash, and stayed there, unconscious. The 4th Division members who were present immediately went to treat the fallen girl. As Karin watched Haruko being carried away, her knees buckled under her.

"Are you ok?"

Karin looked up to see Toushirou hovering above her before snapping her gaze down to her zanpakuto that had already reverted back to its crystal state, trying to hide the blush that had bloomed on her face. Mustering up her courage, she smiled a kilowatt smile at Toushirou and said, "Of course! I didn't faint this time!"

The captain's heart skipped a beat. "Come on, let's get you to the 4th Division." A pause, and a sigh. "Again."

XXXXX

Kurosaki Yuzu gently hummed as she skip-walked down the road her house was on. She was on her way to Urahara Shouten for another session of reiatsu training with Tessai. She smiled slightly as she remembered the large yet gentle man who had first comforted her when her twin Karin died.

Up to this day, Yuzu still remembers the overwhelming sadness and vulnerability she felt when she discovered Karin's body, cold and without a pulse, in the park. She had screamed and cried until her throat felt like it was burning, then continued to sob while holding onto Karin's still body. It was during her sobs when she felt strong arms wrap around her and heard gentle, comforting whispers in her ear. When she had looked up, she was momentarily shocked by the appearance of her brother in a weird garb with Toushirou behind him. She had burst out laughing when Ichigo started to stammer, flustered by how she could suddenly see him. It was at this point in time when she learned about her family heritage, and everything that had been going on without her knowledge. Of course she felt sad when she knew that the people around her had hid her in the dark all this time, but she understood their concerns. Yuzu was also extremely relieved when her brother explained to her that Karin was now in Soul Society, and that she can still see her dear sister. Ever since then, Tessai had been aiding her in controlling the powers that she had accidentally set off when she had cried over Karin. Apparently, as Urahara explained, her strong emotions of despair had activated them.

"Oh! I should buy some snacks for Tessai-san, Jinta-kun, and Ururu-chan!" Yuzu said to herself, before turning the corner and heading to the park. She had found a new shortcut directly to the department store, and had been using it frequently as she enjoyed her calm and peaceful walks through the park.

When she was halfway through the park, Yuzu's steps halted and she felt her whole body freeze. She felt fear skyrocket in her heart as she watched a figure step out of the garganta that had appeared before her path. The figure that emerged had long, braided purple hair styled like those the Chinese used to have, and he had a slim body covered by a white tank top and loose hakama. His face was partly covered by the white mask that Yuzu remembered Karin talking about.

"An arrancar…?"

The figure seemed surprised at Yuzu's statement. "Oh? So you do know stuff about us!"

Yuzu's frightened eyes immediately trained the arrancar's hand when he gently placed his hand on the hilt of his sword on his left hip.

"This is such a shame! A cute girl like you, and I have to do this…" The arrancar sighed and shook his head.

"Anyways!" Yuzu stiffened when the arrancar perked up. "Let me introduce myself first, young Kurosaki." The arrancar bowed. "I am Aaron, the 8th of the Infierno."


End file.
